Promise
by PrincessZaraStar
Summary: Was I actually hearing this? Was Ryuga really showing me a more tender side to his character? I thought he was supposed to be all gruff and into himself. There couldn't possibly be more to him…right? RyugaXMadoka


**Well, I needed to get yet another mini-story out of my system :P. I believe that mentioned I'd have this up on Easter, but of course I didn't get it done in time. I blame school :P. Um, so this is for Easter Saturday? Eh, it's still Easter week XD. I'm just sorry that this is late.**

**This is a short one-shot I thought of when I was wondering who Ryuga would be compatible with :P. Please tell me if you think they're OOC, I don't usually write RyuMado interactions XD.  
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**Yeahhh enough rambling :D.**

**Oh! Also, this story is dedicated to SnowyFlame! Thanks again for including me in your story, Snowy! I hope you enjoy this story :).  
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**Alright onto the story!**

**(haha I just said story, like, 100 times XD)  
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**I do not own MFB.  
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* * *

**Madoka's POV**

I witnessed the wicked dogs with the mouths of fire once again.

Tsubasa and Yu…

They were swallowed by the burning fire of hate.

In one horrible moment, my friends, normally so alive and full of energy, became defeated and dangerously close to death.

Black, evil smoke rose from their torn clothes and their eyes were hidden behind tightly shut lids. Kenta and I pleaded for them to wake up, but it was useless. In a matter of only fifteen minutes, they were whisked away to a hospital, completely out of sight.

I feared the worst for them.

"No!"

Panting heavily, I sat up swiftly, full of emanate terror. I couldn't shake the feeling of horror from my stomach and I felt absolutely drained of energy.

Why did this have to happen? We were so, so close. Right at our final battle. What were we going to do now? Was Ginka going to have to battle twice? Would that be wise or would he likely gain a lot of damage from one battle and risk defeat at the next one?

Glancing around my dark hotel room, I knew the answer to that question.

I needed to think.

Get my thoughts out.

Fresh air maybe.

The thick blanket was getting stuffy and I was feeling suffocated. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stood up and let my frost-blue eyes adjust to the darkness for a minute, before quietly slipping out the door into the hallway. I tip-toed soundlessly across the red and gold carpet until I reached the stairwell that led to the roof.

_I wonder how Tsubasa and Yu are doing, _I thought, hearing the clang of the metal steps as I padded up them, _I hope they're okay…_

What were we even going to do now? We only had two bladers left on Team Gan Gan Galaxy and soon we would face the American Team in the finals. From what I had observed, they were the strongest rivals yet and I also suspected something off about them. Zeo, Masumune's longtime friend, had completely turned on him and even went a little crazy, full of revenge and rage. Damian, the leader of the team, had caught Tsubasa and Yu off guard and destroyed them in under a minute, leaving them injured in the hospital. And just to make things _better, _we knew absolutely nothing about the third member, Jack.

By this time, I had arrived at the door to the rooftop. Reaching out, I felt the sensation of the cold metal against my still-warm fingertips and I got the hint that it was chilly out.

_Oh well, I'll just remind myself not to stay out too long…_

I swung the door open with a loud creak and I hoped it didn't wake anyone below. Cold, icy air met my skin and I shivered, feeling a little stupid that I didn't bring a sweater.

The night sky was clear and the bright stars twinkled peacefully onto the quiet world below. Simply designed, the roof had a few chairs here and there, but it was comfortable nonetheless. My eyes rested immediately on a desolate area to the right of the door, out of sight. Ambling over, I sank down to my knees and curled up in a ball. I glanced around, looking to see if anyone else was occupying the area, before I deemed myself alone and allowed the confused tears to slip down my face.

Half my friends were in the hospital.

The other half were in a befuddled mess.

Our enemies were strong and plotting something horrible.

And I couldn't do anything about it.

I sat there shaking until I heard heavy footsteps behind me.

_Oh please don't let it be Ginka or Masumune. Please. If they see me like this, they'll just be even more worried. Please don't let it be them, please don't let it be them, please-_

"Oh it's just you," said a familiar voice in careless tone.

Rubbing excess water from my undoubtedly red eyes, I turned back and was met by a person I never thought I'd see at a time like this.

"Ryuga?" I croaked, "What are you doing here?"

Without answer my question, he peered at my face a little skeptically, prior to stepping forward and plopping down beside me.

"What's wrong with you?"

"N-nothing," I, in a very unladylike manner I might add, wiped my eyes once again and stared stubbornly ahead, not looking my company in the eye.

"Liar," Ryuga closed his eyes, wrapped his arms behind his head, and leaned back on the concrete to face the sky.

I frowned at him, feeling some of my fear drip away and replaced with annoyance,

"Well, I must ask you again: What are you doing here?"

"I think better on high places," he replied, his eyes opening to reveal his golden iris', "Plus, the sky is pretty unforgettable tonight."

"Really?" I brought myself down, slowly, to rest parallel to him. Gazing at the heavens, I realized that he was telling the truth. The sky was breathtakingly beautiful. Stars formed pinpoints of twinkling white light against a lovely velvety black sky. I could even see some of the constellations.

Phoenix…Pegasus…Draco-

"So what's on your mind?" Ryuga inquired, still facing the sky.

I folded my hands over my arms to keep warm; the concrete was ice cold.

"I'm just worrying about everyone," I told him simply; I wasn't going to tell _Ryuga_ everything.

"You mean, the Finals? The fact that you're down two bladers? Knowing you, I'll bet you're worrying over Ginka and that Masamune kid. Probably having conflicted feelings about the American team as well."

_He's good._

Shocked that he could guess all of that with such ease, I turned and gave him a how-did-you-know-that look.

The dragon blader turned as well and gave me a friendly smirk,

"Did I guess right?"

His citrine eyes glittered in the starlight and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful they looked. To my surprise, and annoyance, I felt my face grow warm.

"Some of it," I replied tenaciously, looking away. My face was getting hotter; I'm sure that it was scarlet at this point.

"You're turning red," he told me, laughing lightly.

_That jerk!_

"Well! Enough about me!" I huffed, sitting up and wrapping my arms around my legs in an irritated manner, "What are _you _thinking about?"

Still laughing a little, he sat up as well, "No need to get all up tight."

I looked away angrily and tried to hide my glowing face as hot tears started to return.

"Hey," his voice softened, "Are you crying?"

"Yes!" I blurted bitterly, "No thanks to you!"

I proceeded to let my head fall face-down into my waist and I pulled my knees closer, forming a little ball.

Leave it to Ryuga to make things better. Not.

"You know," he continued to talk, his tone noticeably kinder, "I came here because I needed to think about some things. Some things that have been burdening me lately."

I scoffed and tried to ignore him, but I was secretly curious to hear what he had to say.

"I have a debt. I owe your little friend Ginka for saving me. Because of him, I was able to realize what…what L Drago did to me," his voice faltered for a second.

Was I actually hearing this? Was Ryuga really showing me a more tender side to his character? I thought he was supposed to be all gruff and into himself. There couldn't possibly be more to him…right?

I granted him the pleasure of viewing my blotchy face when I turned to face him again,

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Staring forward, Ryuga's amber eyes were distant as if he was deeply contemplating something. His hair blew gently back and forth in a chilling breeze that blew sharply. I shivered uncontrollably, deathly cold by this time. Every blast of wind that blew felt like needles pricking my sensitive skin with sharp, cold points. Yet in spite of that, I found myself staring at Ryuga's face, blushing more and more when I realized that he was more attractive than I remembered him. Did he always look that way? I couldn't even remember paying him much attention. My most vivid memories of him consisted of dragons and loss of control. Suddenly, he turned sharply to my face and we locked eyes. He had noticed my staring. I blushed a darker red and looked at my lap awkwardly.

Way to go Madoka.

Real smooth.

Then his mouth parted into a small smile, revealing his startlingly white teeth,

"I don't know yet."

His hair danced in the wind more violently and I grabbed my arms and rubbed them vigorously to keep warm.

_I don't think I can stay out here much longer…_

"Madoka," he noticed my shaking body, "Were you stupid enough to leave your coat inside?"

Ryuga's tender moment was definitely over.

But it was then that I realized he had said my name for the first time and, in spite of my burning irritation, a smile crossed my lips at the sound of it.

"Y-yes," I chattered, too cold to make up some smart remark.

"Here," he stubbornly unbuttoned his lab-style cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders. The immediate warmth that the thick fabric gave off only added to my ever reddening face. Grateful for the garment, I looked up into his yellow/brown eyes and grinned genuinely,

"T-thanks…Ryuga."

Now his cheeks were a little pink.

"You can't keep it," he said sheepishly, a bit flustered.

I smiled shyly and pulled the cloak tighter as if to increase the heat,

"I'll be sure to return it."

It was in that moment that I noticed I wasn't even worrying anymore. For some reason, I was calmed by Ryuga's presence.

_What would I say if I knew this was ever going to happen? This time with Ryuga?_

The thought made a bubbly giggle rise and spill over.

I would doubtlessly dub myself crazy.

In fact, I think I was crazy.

Here I was, sitting with Ryuga, giggling at my own stupidity.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

We sat there for a while, side by side, watching the stars glimmer. In our silence, I listened to Ryuga breathe gently, his breath swirling with increasing jerkiness into a frosty fog in the air.

_He's cold too…_

I couldn't let him sit in the cold like that, not after he lent his only heat source to me.

"Ryuga," I started, positioning my feet to stand, "I should be going back. It's nearly morning and I have my supporter duties to the team."

I pulled the cloak from my shoulders and handed it back to its owner, biting my lip to keep from dying on the spot from the cold.

The older teen accepted his garment and flung it back around his shoulders, standing up to look down at me with those glowing eyes.

"T-thanks," I stammered, either from the fact I was still blushing, or from the below 20 air around me. Both probably.

"No problem," he said carelessly, buttoning it up again.

"Uh, see you around, I guess," I waved and swerved to rush towards the door, my skin screaming for heat. Seriously, I should've at least worn pants; I didn't know why I was wearing a skirt during a cold October.

"Madoka."

His deep, rich voice called me and I stopped in my tracks. Hoping that my lips weren't blue, I turned around and flashed him a friendly grin,

"Yes?"

The dragon teen stepped forward,

"Thanks for being my thinking buddy tonight."

"Oh it was no problem really-"

"Madoka," he was about three feet in front of me now, "We will meet again. At the championships."

"We will?"

Did he just offer to sub in for Tsubasa and Yu? To help Gan Gan Galaxy out? Would he really do that?

A determined smirk emerged on his face,

"See you then."

This time it was Ryuga's turn to walk away.

I watched in a lingering awe as his cloak billowed majestically around his tall frame. The golden light from the morning sun reflected off his metallic crown and his black boots clomped firmly on the concrete.

He looked like a king.

"Ryuga," I called once more.

He stopped and tilted his head to face me,

"What?"

My face was heating up and my heart beat was quickening,

"I'll be waiting."

Reflective eyes shining sunlight into mine, he nodded,

"I promise you. Our paths will cross again."

And for some stupid, strange reason, I hoped that what he said was true.

With that, I watched him walk away into the pink and gold hues of the rising sun.

* * *

_Masumune had lost his match and Ginka was ready to face Jack. I tensed, filled with worry for my friend. Would he be okay?_

"_Okay, let's do this!" the red-head shouted, bounding forward to enter his match._

_Shortly afterwards, we all witnessed it._

_A blast of red inferno…_

_The swirling of flames…_

_Cherry-red dragons dancing gracefully, yet frighteningly throughout the stadium…_

_Although I had to mask it with a doubtful, "What is he doing here?" I found myself inwardly excited._

_With a wink in my direction, he completely returned to his normal self and proceeded to taunt his opponent._

_Ryuga had kept his promise._


End file.
